Tsinghua University

　　Tsinghua University is a prestigious and historic institution of higher learning. It was established in the year before the founding of the Republic of China (1911) by the Qing government using funds from the Boxer Indemnity refunded by the United States in Beijing. Initially called the “Preparatory School for Studying in the United States,” it was the first preparatory school created to send Chinese youth to study in America under government sponsorship. Its graduates would directly enter their third year of study at American universities. In 1925, the university began offering four-year undergraduate programs.

　　Today, Tsinghua University is dedicated to becoming a comprehensive, multidisciplinary university. As of April 2005, Tsinghua had 13 schools and 53 departments, including the School of Sciences, School of Architecture, School of Civil Engineering, School of Mechanical Engineering, School of Information Science and Technology, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, School of Economics and Management, School of Law, School of Art, School of Public Policy and Management, School of Applied Technology, School of Medicine, and School of Aeronautics and Astronautics. It also had 41 research institutes, 35 research centers, and 175 laboratories—including 11 national key laboratories and 14 key laboratories of the Ministry of Education of China.

　　The university currently has over 7,800 faculty and staff members, including one Nobel Prize laureate, 34 members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, 26 members of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and more than 1,200 with senior professional titles. There are 49 national key disciplines, 58 undergraduate majors, 1 second bachelor’s degree program, 159 master's degree programs, 123 doctoral degree programs, and 27 postdoctoral research stations. The student body includes over 27,000 full-time students, of which around 13,000 are undergraduates, over 8,000 are master’s students, and over 4,000 are doctoral candidates. There are also more than 1,300 international students and visiting scholars from 46 countries and regions, as well as over 9,000 students enrolled in distance education programs.

　　Since the mid-1980s, a significant number (estimated at around 20% of graduates) of Tsinghua alumni have gone on to pursue further studies in the United States. It is not uncommon to find them on American university campuses, in companies, enterprises, and government departments. In recent years, this trend has drawn criticism, with some arguing that Tsinghua graduates should stay in China rather than going to the United States.

　　For high school graduates, Tsinghua is one of the most competitive universities in mainland China (the other being Peking University), admitting only the most outstanding students from across the country each year. The campus culture at Tsinghua is historic, distinctive, rich, and diverse, setting it apart from many other universities. Owing to its American heritage, the university’s cultural traditions have also been deeply influenced by those of American campuses.